Rough wood--experts needed

[garys]

I came across a local guy who has some Wisconsin rough sawn cherry in his garage that he has had there for over 10 years. He is selling it off for $2 bd/ft. Living in a part of the country that has no wood, this looks like a true deal to me, so I bought some this week and hauled it home. I have no project in mind at this point, but my Wife said I shouldn't pass it up.
Hopefully I will get the planer out soon and plane it down to see if I made out OK, or I made a mistake.
It is all 5/4 and thicker slabs right now, so we are thinking that a new Cherry dining room table might be in our future.
I did a couple of projects last winter with Cherry, and both my Wife and I loved the finished look.
My experience with Cherry is very limited, so ideas are welcome. Does it turn well on the lathe? How does it work with a router compared to other woods? My experience out here on the prairie has been limited to oak, walnut, and some aromatic cedar.

On the northern prairie, a tree is any grass taller than 2 feet.

[dusty]

Maybe you should go back and buy up the rest.

[beeg]

I'd pay from $4.95 to $7.00 a board foot. I think cherry is the one that will burn easily. Do as Dusty suggested.

[mustangpalmer1911]

For 2 bucks a foots I would have bought ALL of it then and there. I just turned some cherry pens and thry came out nice. I had 2 blanks blow up on me but I think it was me doing it wrong.

[charlese]

My experience with Cherry is very limited, so ideas are welcome. Does it turn well on the lathe? How does it work with a router compared to other woods? My experience out here on the prairie has been limited to oak, walnut, and some aromatic cedar.

At first I thought you were kidding. However here are some thoughts. Just think of all of the beautiful cherry antiques. From desks to chairs, tables, rockers and more.

Here are a few sentences from the "Wood Handbook" from the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture"
"...It is moderately heavy, strong, stiff, and moderately hard, with high shock resistance. Although it has moderately high shrinkage, it is very dimensionally stable after drying.
Black cherry is used principally for furniture, fine veneer panels, and architectural woodwork. Other uses include burial caskets, wooden ware, novelties, patterns, and paneling."

Here is a couple of words from Wikipedia:
The timber is valuable, perhaps the premier cabinetry timber of the U.S., traded as "cherry". It is known for its strong red color and high price. Its density when dried is around 580 kg per cubic meter.

Suggest you "Google" the words - cherry furniture.

Like dusty and mustangpalmer1911 said/inferred - Should have bought it all!

I've not been lucky enough to have had any experience with this wood, but there is still a future.

[pennview]

Cherry is a woodworkers delight and like the others have suggested, go back and buy as much as you can afford and then some. Before doing that thought, I'd plane a board or two to check the appearance. Cherry darkens naturally over a period of time, so don't judge the final color by how it appears when freshly planed. Sunlight helps speed the darkening process, but the white sapwood doesn't darken. Typically you pay a premium for boards that are all heartwood.

It's easy to burn the sawn edges when ripping or crosscutting cherry from friction, so use sharp blades and a steady, even feed rate. Router bits also can burn the edges, so the same precautions are in order here too. For turning, cherry is great.

[garys]

Thanks for the information, guys. I want to get out and set up the planer today and see what I have here. If it turns out nice, I would consider getting more of the wood. Living in a treeless area of the country, I almost never find a deal on wood.
My wood buying has always been to go to my local supplier and pick out whatever wood I need and pay full retail. I'm very lucky in that I have a local shop that supplies me with whatever wood I could want. I so much prefer picking out my own pieces locally rather than having to order wood and have it shipped sight unseen.

[AZ IRONWOOD]

No wood locally ? Well go plant some trees !!! Since your machine will outlive you, think of your legacy. Your offspring can inherit the machine, and have local wood too boot.

A lot of woodworkers, don't realize there is a large quantity [at least for small/moderate projects] EVERYWHERE. I've discovered Phillipine Mahogany, Thailand Teak, and other species from exotic locals, usually just for the asking. I'm referring to the 'lowly' wooden shipping pallets, that are excess after a shipment, or broken beyond use. They're rough stock, but you can convert them into many projects. Prior to use, be sure to remove the nails. I highly recommend acquiring a GOOD metal detector; such as a Garrett SuperWand [typically used by security folks, to invade your privacy], to 'play' over the stock; even if you 'think' you've removed all hardware. Initial expense of money and effort is recouped, by not having to buy and replace Planer, Jointer, Saw Blades, Shaper Knives, etc.. The Garrett has an indicator informing the 'prior to use' battery/functionality condition. Good Luck scrounging !!!

[garys]

No wood locally ? Well go plant some trees !!! Since your machine will outlive you, think of your legacy. Your offspring can inherit the machine, and have local wood too boot.!

The problem with that is that winters here drop to -45 degrees and very few species of hardwood trees can survive these kinds of temperatures. Basically, I'm stuck buying my wood. I keep my eyes open for deals like this cherry, but for most of my projects, I simply pay the local wood supplier for the wood I need.

[beeg]

I'm referring to the 'lowly' wooden shipping pallets, that are excess after a shipment, or broken beyond use.

The problem with using old skids is that ya don't know WHAT chemical has soaked into it.